Rock News

Jason Newsted explains Metallica exit

Thirteen years down the road, Jason Newsted is finally explaining why he left Metallica.

In a new interview with ScuzzTV, the bassist says there was a lot leading up to his exit, but the straw that broke the camel's back was a side project he was working on called Echobrain.

Newsted explains that Metallica's management was initially behind the band, and they felt he could be a part of it without affecting Metallica. But Metallica frontman James Hetfield apparently didn't feel the same way. Newsted claims Hetfield "pretty much put out the kibosh on the whole thing" because he didn't want the band's management working on something that he wasn't a part of.

But whatever the reason, Newsted says management went from being excited about the project to wanting nothing to do with it in a couple of days.

Newsted says Hetfield eventually confronted him about the Echobrain project and made it clear that he wasn't happy about it. The frontman also told him that "other arrangements could be made," and Newsted says that was the exact moment he decided to leave the band.